


A beautiful day to walk your fish

by TheForestUnderQuarantine



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Keith is secretly sappy, M/M, Merman Lance, Metalworker Keith, Misunderstandings, Summer Vibes, Sunflowers, Sweetness, beach vibes, romantic keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:47:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27719755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheForestUnderQuarantine/pseuds/TheForestUnderQuarantine
Summary: Merman and self-designated underwater lifeguard Lance McClain didn't know rescuing this strange seal would change his life. Miscommunication leads to love. And. Well. He never thought someone would walk him all the way up a hill just to see the sights. Who said romance wasn't a leaky wheelbarrow and a grumpy mullet?--“So,” the legged creature panted. “The legends are true. You sea-monsters do eat innocent pets and lost souls.”
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 104





	A beautiful day to walk your fish

**Author's Note:**

> Written for 4seasons Klance zine, a marvellous klance zine! Was so happy to be included.

The seal looked like it was struggling.   
Lance could see it on the surface of the water, like seaweed large and floating. 

At first, Lance had glided closer—what weird furry thing was invading his ocean? Its flippers were flailing in a manner Lance had never seen before. Usually the motions were smooth, the slim bodies moving with the propulsion of a tail and manoeuvred with the flick of streamlined fore-flippers. But this creature wasn’t dancing underwater.

Lance could see why—its flippers were uniformly misshaped. The fore flippers too long and gangly, its tail completely split. Each limb was paddling in tandem—so energy inefficient—and as he floated closer, he noticed a fifth limb, held erect and wagging above the surface. A signal for help?

Self-designated ocean-lifeguard Lance McClain was on the case! 

He swam beneath, tail propelling him in a smooth muscled push. The poor deformed seal did not even have the luxury of this easy movement. Its prolonged snout made contact with his forehead, snuffled a different texture of wet against his bangs. Lance’s eyes slowly crossed to take it in. The seal’s eyes looked jaundiced, the iris yellow and unlike the warm brown of the seals Lance knew. Lance gasped. The poor creature probably did not have much time left. 

Perhaps he could give it the mercy of a trip beneath the waves. Let it float through the ocean to the bed and between the coral, the stimulation and serenity of life underwater. The seal tilted its head at him quizzically. 

“Alright buddy!” his arms wrapped around its body, clamping down on panicked thrashing. “Today’s your lucky day! You get to share my egg expulsion day with me and see the sights! All aboard! Onto Lance McClain’s guided ocean tour!” 

He leapt into the air with the seal to cannonball to the bottom with him, tail looping around them and then propelling out in a smooth motion. 

The seal yelped before its head went under, smartly closing its mouth. He loosened his hold on the creature, now just his hands to guide him through a school of fish the young pup clearly wanted to snap at. 

The little guy had clearly never had the joy of the ocean opened up to him and was quickly panicking and struggling in his hold. Lance tried to calm him, but a splash behind him quickly took his attention. Arms were then wrapping around his own waist and pulling him out of the water, whacking into his back. 

“Drop my dog you foul beast!” 

“Beast!?” Lance released the seal, now identified as a dog, which quickly sped up to the surface. The hold on him loosened as they both broke the surface, the organism behind him hacking seawater back into his ocean. Lance glanced over his shoulder, coming face to face with the human and panicked, darting.

Not quickly enough, a hand gloved in kelp-like material clamped down on his wrist.

“So,” the legged creature panted. “The legends are true. You sea-monsters do eat innocent pets and lost souls.”

“Sea monster? Where!?” Lance’s eyes and body darted around wildly, looking for danger. “Get behind me, I’ll protect you and your ‘dog.’ No offense but I’m definitely the stronger swimmer.”

The human’s eyes—a nice shade of deep dusk purple he’d never seen eyes like that, his own basic seawater blue and briny—flashed with what looked like competition before levelling him with a flat stare.

Lance blinked. Looked around again before pointing his other hand’s finger to his chest. He cocked his head in confusion. “Who? Me? … I am so offended.”

“You tried to murder my dog. He can’t breathe underwater.”

“How was I supposed to know that!? I thought he was a poor deformed seal! I wanted to give him a nice swim. Out of the goodness of my own heart.”

“Kosmo was swimming. Safely. Above water.” 

“Well I was going to give him a nice guided tour under the sea and then safely get him to the beach. Wasn’t I, big guy?” The dog had paddled up to him excitedly, tongue lolling from its mouth. 

The human was looking at the scene completely stunned at how his dog bypassed him as if in a trance to get to the merman. Lance was delighted, cooing.

He patted Kosmo’s head, flashing the human a smug smile—until the dog, entranced by the fishy smell, bit into his hand. Lance yelped, shoving the dog towards Keith. “Take this rodent of unusual size away from me.”

The human’s face, skin already pale from the chill of the ocean, seemed to get whiter. “He … doesn’t usually bite. Please don’t contact the ocean cops—”

“The laws of the ocean would allow me to bite back. But I’m too nice for that,” the merman sniffed. “I’m just glad I didn’t hurt him.”

“Yeah?” The human had calmed down, bobbing peacefully in the ocean while watching him closely. “You weren’t just trying to show off to a seal?”

“…Maybe a little. But the ocean is so cool, human! Like, it’s always been a dream of mine to see your world but I’m not going to crap on my home—well, I kind of have to crap in it but that’s probably TMI—just, it’s so beautiful, why wouldn’t I want to share my world with someone struggling?” He gesticulated and spoke with his whole body, beautiful blue tail flicking excitedly up as he lay back into the waves, smiling blissfully. “So beautiful.” 

Embarrassed by his rambles, he hid his face his hands, but he gave the human a shy smile. The dying light of the day broke through the smoky clouds, painting his face with a soft light. He glowed. 

“I,” the human coughed. “It sure is. Beautiful. I mean. I like to go scuba-diving when I get days off from work. Never thought I’d see someone trying to take Kosmo for a dive though—”

“I was TRYING to be a good Samaritan.” He floated back up, crossing his arms. “And he could have been taken by the rip. If it wasn’t for your friendly neighbourhood fish here,” he said, launching himself out of the water dramatically and throwing his hair back—huh, so merpeople really did the little mermaid hair-flip—the light giving the tawny strands a golden glow. He pulled his fingers into finger guns. “He might have been in trouble, sir Human.”

“It’s Keith.”

“Keith.”

“He got in trouble because of you, but okay. And were you trying to beach yourself there? Those were some clumsy moves.”

Lance gasped, offended. “Are all of you humans assholes, or just Keiths? Makes my life-long dream of being part of your world seem so disappointing.”

Keith blinked slowly at him. “Why would you want to be a part of my world? We have taxes …”

“I hear humans talking about it sometimes. The architecture. Ice-cream. Grass. Land-whales called cows? Hiking with your weird pretty split fins up mountains …” Lance looked to the shore, up past the esplanade and turning on street-lights, through the smattering of cabins and houses and up to the green lush fields. Scanning eyes still not stopping until they travelled all the way up to the largest mountain in town—still humble, but grand on the horizon. 

Lance mouthed ‘giant land wave’ before speaking louder. “It’s so full of life. So is the sea, but I have to eat most of the things I come across and the other mers they just—have no curiosity? I always feel like I’m in a whole other ocean to them. A sixth ocean. I really wanted to share my expulsion day with a new friend. But not even Kosmo wanted that, huh. And a kelp-haired human insults me and destroys my sense of wonder with whatever the curse of taxes is. Worst. Expulsion. Day. Ever.”

Keith stared at the pouty merman. He looked like he wanted to cry. 

“Uh … there, there?”

Lance’s whole face crumpled.

Keith shouted even louder, “THERE, THERE?”

“Sorry I–” Lance rubbed his eyes, fins around his ear closed tight as if trying to make himself seem smaller. “I don’t know why I’m so emotional.”

Keith wiped away seaweed that had caught across his ear-fin. “That’s okay.” He smiled. “Surprised you called me kelp-haired when you’re covered in seaweed, you weird dog-saving hero guppy. How can I make it up to you on your birthd—expulsion day?”

Lance turned his face and looked at the setting sun. “You can’t. Not this year. My expulsion day is practically over. I better leave before the tide does.”

Keith grimaced, worried he’d never see this strange, wonderous cryptid again. “What about next year? Let me make it up to you next year.”

“Pfft.” Lance’s ear-fins splayed out, turning his tail to him—trusting the human not to attack him with his back turned, a little flirtatious. “As if I’d come back next year.”

Lance came back the next day.

And the day after that.

And, well … maybe they’d started courting at some point, but the thing between them was too new and too strange for him to dare put a name to, worried Keith and the warm fuzzies that accompanied him would disappear like seafoam if he dared ask if they were betrothed.

Sometimes he’d bring Keith gifts from the sea—rusted cutlery from shipwrecks, pretty coral he’d handcrafted into figurines of Kosmo—and other times he’d clap excitedly as he was gifted little bits of the human world. “A pretty rock that reminded me of your eyes—they call them sapphires” on a ring of metal the craftsman had made him. A cool leaf shaped like his tail. 

They’d sit on the sand, the tip of Lance’s tail still buried underwater, watching something called ‘a movie’ on a ‘lap-top.’ Lance was awed by the moving images. The ones where the couples fell in love were his favourite, but he was also quite partial to the big fiery explosion ones. 

After a particularly exhilarating film, his Keith friend broke down, voice dry and taut and eyes red-rimmed, as he told him his parents had passed away in a fire during his youth, and that while he liked action movies—he had watched them with his pop—it was complicated. They were both known as fire-fighters, saving people from fires. Heroes.

“You’re my fire-fighter.” Lance had buried his head against Keith’s chest, not knowing what to say, so he babbled while Keith’s grip on him tightened, anchoring him. “Even if you make me feel like I’m on fire sometimes, at least we’ve got plenty of water to douse it out.” 

“And you’re my lifeguard.” Keith had pressed a kiss to his hair, voice wet. “Guardian of water.”

Perhaps Keith was a bit drunk. Hiccoughing. Perhaps they both were. Lance didn’t know what he was saying and he didn’t think Keith knew either, but stories became another thing they shared. 

Often Keith couldn’t make it every day of the week. He was hard at work smelting metal most days, but he tried to cool off in the ocean when possible.

He made sure to come back the day after that bad movie night, teasing Lance over something stupid to show Lance that he was truly okay. 

To be fair, he had finally confessed that he’d thought Kosmo was Keith’s son and had inquired over how humans cared for their offspring. 

“I mean, he is my fur-son, but he can manage on his own.”

“Humans—their ‘dogs’ are that self-sufficient? Our young are protected for eighteen summers in reefs before they dare venture out. Fur-son … is that a nickname for your offspring? Your son is very hairy. Do you guys shave when you're older as a sign of maturity? He has your ... hair colour And a similar smell. It's very strong and masculine?” He’d finished with what he’d hoped was a charming smile.

“ … We’re not actually biologically related.”

“Kosmo is adopted!? Would never have guessed; he really takes after you.”

“No, no, Lance, sweetheart, Kosmo is a completely different species to me. He just cohabits with me. Like a son, but human offspring are called babies. You silly fish.” He had outright laughed at that point and Lance had splashed him with water, indignant. 

“Exactly a month from my expulsion day, too! The nerve.”

Keith had just laughed harder at that. Of course, he’d be the kind to countdown to his birthday.

“So I heard from hikers that the mountain has a nice freshwater lake at the top,” Lance had said dreamily one night. “I’d love to frolic in it.”

Keith’s eyes had narrowed, briefly worried for a second that Kosmo had conspired to tell Lance what he’d intended to surprise him with for his birthday.

See, Keith had it all figured out. Had ordered a fish-tank that would fit in his trailer to transfer his love safely up the mountain. He could just imagine Lance’s hands would no doubt be pressed against the glass as he tried to get close to the trees that would flick passed on his first drive. 

It was all perfectly planned.

He’d gotten a camping permit and everything for the week he’d taken off to spend with Lance. He was going to spoil the young man. Had a picnic basket on order for them with oysters, chocolates and wine. He had researched to make sure if it was safe for mer consumption—he couldn’t wait to watch how ridiculously Lance would dance in the water, swimming into everything slowly. 

A tent for himself would be waiting for them beside the water. They could sleep holding hands, Lance’s reaching from the water, Keith’s reaching through the gap in his tent. It was all planned. 

Unfortunately, like most well-laid plans, it quickly fell apart.

The day before Lance’s expulsion day he got a call from the tank manufacturers. His order had been delayed. He was too surly and panicked to ask anyone around town—all of whom viewed him as a weird, quiet wilderness loner—if they had a spare tank lying around, knowing it was unlikely.

In a panic, he filled the trailer with water. He smiled, wide and relieved seeing the small rectangle fill up. However, it seeped out of the gaps in the poorly sealed corners. The water dropped, along with his hope, leaking onto the gravel. 

He wouldn’t be able to keep Lance in a Tupperware container. Maybe he could pinch his closest neighbour’s inflatable pool? But he didn’t want to get put away for stealing. He didn’t have much money in his bank account, his savings going into the delayed glass aquarium. He couldn’t hook his crappy bath-tub to his ute—the person who had owned the cabin before him had sealed it to the wall.

His eyes alighted in the garbage bag hanging out of his trash-can, currently being pillaged by raccoons. Maybe—

He imagined swinging it over his shoulder like a rucksack, in a way piggybacking Lance without him drying out, but in another way hauling him around like a giant goldfish in a giant bag being taken home from a pet-store. No. it was too undignified for his—Lance.

He was skulking in the backyard, kicking around a can of baked beans the raccoons had tossed out when he kicked it too high and it collided with his wheelbarrow. It was an old red thing, the paint chipped, the wheels shaky and it wasn’t the easiest to manoeuvre … but it would be perfect. He could carry Lance around like a prince up the country road that cut through the mountain. Let the wind blow through his hair and the freshly mowed grass and wildflower scent billow across his face.

He snuck to the beach later that night, knowing it was the only way to avoid the curious fishman, and took back buckets of seawater to buffet his partner like a cushion. 

He found Lance the following morning bathing on a rock, lazy with sun. “So.” He turned to Keith with a bleary cat-like smile. “Today’s my expulsion day and for it I’d love to spend some time with you.”

“Me too.” Keith cleared his throat, taking in the shine of vibrant blue scales dotting his shoulders, the trust in showing off the gills on the line of his neck. “I actually have a surprise for you.”

Lance splayed his hand across his chest. “Me? Keith you didn’t—”

“It’s a surprise, so let me blindfold you?”

“…" Lance raised an eyebrow.

“Lance.”

“I kid. Surprise me away.” He jumped from the rock and swam closer, let Keith wrap the cloth around his eyes. Lance’s face didn’t even twitch from his smile. He did yelp in surprise when Keith lifted him from the water in one strong swoop. 

“Keith.” He clung to his broad back. “I can’t survive out of water for long.”

“It won’t be long,” he said as he walked across the sand, getting to Kosmo and the wheelbarrow he’d left at the beach’s stairs. 

So he wanted some skin-on-skin contact. Lance was in no danger if it was only a couple of minutes. 

He placed him in the water of the tray, Lance sighing with delight as the water splashed against him. Keith turned the wheelbarrow and started walking the long way around town to avoid people. He unhooked the blindfold that Lance had been trying to peek through the entire time. Kosmo trotted quietly beside them.

“Okay, open.”

They’d made it to the base of the mountain, the road up clear and rarely used. Lance’s jaw gaped as he stared up the winding road, eyes widening and getting damp. “You … you’ll push me the entire way?”

Keith smiled down fondly at him. “The entire way.”

If Lance was in the ocean, he would have dived underwater to swoon in a full circle and leapt into the air to whoop. This kelp-haired human really wasn’t so bad after all. Instead, he impulsively grabbed one of the hands pushing his contraption and gave the wrist a tender kiss. “Thanks, Keith.”

Keith’s face reddened and he gulped, mouth suddenly dry. He blamed the sun.

Lance whooped and laughed as Keith carefully pushed them onwards, reaching a hand down to ruffle Kosmo’s head and to feel the dog lick at his palm, all animosity long gone. He ohhh’d and ahhh’d at the many thick trees lining up the initial path, amazed at how the light danced through the gaps in the leaves and made them seem to twinkle like stars. Keith watched his handsome, happy face, feeling the world anew through his beautiful eyes.

Lance chattered about everything initially. Leaves. Grass. Dandelions. 

“What were the gaps in between the tree called?”

“Do they usually smell this … fresh? It’s like salty air but without the sting.” 

“Do you like the crunch under your boots?”

Keith paused and carefully planted the wheelbarrow on a non-steep bit of road to pick him a flower. “This forget-me-not is the colour of your eyes.”

Lance stared at the delicate flower, alarmed. “I have a creepy yellow ring around my iris!? Why did nobody tell me? Oh I should not be making eye contact with people? That'd be freaky. I can never look you in the eyes again.”

“No, the blue around it, drama queen!” Keith chuckled. “One day, I’ll make you a flower crown out of them. A perfect blue halo for your princely nature.”

“… You think I’m a prince?”

“I think you act as spoiled as one, yes,” Keith laughed as he booped Lance on the nose with it. Lance scowled. That scowl eased into a giant smile as Lance inhaled the smell, eyes going into a happy daze. 

“I could get used to being treated like a prince,” he sighed dreamily. “Usually I have to close off my nostrils completely … the world is so intense up here. My senses are so different underwater. Everything is muted, while everything up here … it shines. It’s so bright.”

Keith stopped, startled to see a fruit-seller on the side of the road. The first human they’d passed. He gulped.

Lance brightened. “Oh look! A new person! Hi! Keith, they have food! Can we get food?”

Keith’s spine stiffened but he nodded, wheeling them closer.

The man behind the counter had a fierce scowl and one shrewd eye. He scoffed looking between the pair. “Of course. Weird Keith Kogane picks up an even weirder friend. You boys roleplaying or something?”

“Yes,” Keith said quickly before Lance could get anything out. “On Mondays Lance likes to pretend to be a mermaid. It’s just a Lance thing.”

“Kids these days,” the man chuckled. “Back in my day, we just got blackout drunk for fun. What can I get you?”

Lance was mouthing the words, having learned the alphabet through subtitles. Apples. Bananas. Kiwifruit. Mangoes—he leaned over to sniff at them, much to the seller’s bemusement but jerked back quickly with disgust. Pungent. But still. His hands were out, grabbing everything. Apples were harder and smoother than the fuzzy balls Keith chucked for Kosmo. He liked the fuzzy feel of the peaches. It was like a small animal. 

“This one, Keith? And maybe some—you like red, so strawberries?”

“A bag of peaches and a punnet of strawberries please, Iverson,” Keith said, exchanging money and putting the bundle in Lance’s lap. 

“Have a good afternoon doing … whatever you’re doing,” Iverson waved them off.

Lance took a bite out of the stone-fruit, eyes blasting wide at the hit of flavour so different to anything he had ever tasted. So different to meat, to the salt of the sea. It was … sweet. Tears trickled down his cheeks. He was so happy and overwhelmed.

“Keith! Have you ever tasted anything so sweet?” 

Keith watched the juice dribbling down his shining lips. “No.” His eyes watched them hungrily. “But I’d love to taste it,” he leaned down.

Lance shoved a peach in his face.

Happily munching through the entire bag, Lance eased off on the chatter. The sugar high peaking and easing, he began to calmly take everything in as Keith took the wheelbarrow and started moving them on at a steady, sure pace. He watched the trees for the next half hour. Watched butterflies billow on the breeze, birds bounce across the tree-line. A flash of red—that’s a cardinal, Lance. The high twittering lilt of thrushes singing to each other. The majestic blue—“my favourite shade,” Lance exclaimed—of an indigo bunting. He vibrated with a quiet happiness. Keith fell into a comfortable silence with him, just watching the joy on his face. This was so much better than driving. 

There was just the steady sound of Keith’s huffed breathing, the roll of wheels over the gravel of a road, the occasional bump of going over a rock. Lance laughed every time, like it was an amusement park-ride, water barely spilling due to Keith’s control. His tail perked up happily flickering as it hung out of the tray, like someone kicking their legs. 

Lance wanted to see everything, but he was dozing in the happy sunlight and the easy companionship. 

Despite regretting staying up so late the night before, he was now so content he was tired. 

His senses were tingling. It was so much. His dream. He looked up to Keith, taking in the way he would glance between him and the surroundings. A relaxed smile on that usually frowny face.

Keith eventually caught his gaze and flushed. Lance smiled lazily. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

Lance just watched him. Keith tried to not look intimidated. Turned his eyes back to the road, flustered. The next time he looked down, Lance was still looking at him, mouthing, “Thank you.”

Lance couldn’t get over how, surrounded by the human world, the most interesting about it was still Keith. Those strong arm muscles flexing as he carted them up the path. 

Lance’s own arms were lankier, muscles built for swimming. 

Keith’s were very … bulky and thick, and Lance worried his mouth was drying out in the sun just looking at them. 

He looked at that handsome face, the cut of his jaw, those brows furrowed in concentration as he pushed Lance’s weight onwards. Looked at the long, bizarre strands of hair. He’d once said it was the same style as a particular action star and Keith had scowled and said he didn’t have a mullet. Lance had laughed. Of course his hair wasn’t a fish … but it tickled him whenever he got to say he was wearing a mullet, so it became a joke. There was red skin at the base of his neck, the sun gathering there. He kinda wanted to reach up and tug the strands, see if they were heavy with sweat. Distracted himself by looking at his strange split tail—legs. They were still so new to him. So powerful and suited for the land. He liked the flex of them even more than the arms. 

“I see it’s a hot day,” Lance drawled. “Why didn’t you wear shorter leg covers?”

“You mean shorts?”

“Yes,” Lance sighed dreamily. “Shorts.” 

“Perve.” Keith wiggled the wheelbarrow from side-to-side to scare him. “Would mean extra sunscreen.”

Lance’s scowl at the nasty trick gave way to an awed grin. “Keith! Those flowers are a field of sun!”

The sunflowers were almost as tall as Keith was and Lance looked up at them with awe. “They don’t hurt my eyes …”

Keith smiled and noticed a cow in the field beside it. He began to sing, knowing that bovines liked music. “Oh, I see a Kaltenecker on this fine summer’s day, it sees a fishy saying hey, it wants to moo at the fish to greet, not knowing the fishy shits where it eats.”

“Hey!” Lance scowled. “I don’t want to make a bad first impression,” he said, fussing his hair down. “Hey! You’re not a land whale! You’re a land manatee. And Kosmo’s a land fish. Oh, you’re so cute!”

The docile creature walked up to the fence, eyes gentle and curious. It jutted its nose out, giant nostrils snorting. A truly awed Lance reached his hand out, gasping as she butted her head against his palm. “Oh, you’re so beautiful.”

Keith smiled down at him. Parked the wheelbarrow. They’d still be up in time to watch the sunset. “I think she knows you’re the most beautiful one here.”

“Keith.” Lance flushed, ducked his head away. “That’s both offensive to Kaltenecker and so cheesy it’s almost fishy. I suspect you’re after something, Mr.”

“You’re fishy.”

Lance levelled him with a flat stare.

Keith laughed. “You’re also beautiful. Even when you’re frowning.”

Lance smiled despite himself, the sight of his little sharp teeth brighter than the sun and the entire field of sunflowers.


End file.
